Ventilator valve assembly



y 1957 H. H. WENDELA 2,791,957

VENTILATOR VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nnnmunnnINVENT R if i/ a .ZZ SmQ/Q BY5%M ATTORNEY y 1957 H. H. WENDELAVENTILATOR VALVE ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 8, 1954 Z M IATTORNEY United States Patent VENTILATOR VALVE ASSEMBLY Hugo H. Wendela,Detroit, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich.,a corporation of Delaware Application November 8, 1954, Serial No.467,348

1 Claim. (Cl. 982) This invention relates to a ventilator valve assemblyand more particularly to a ventilator valve assembly for use with avehicle body to control the flow of air which may be passed through thefire wall thereof for improving the comfort of vehicle passengers.

A Ventilator valve for use on vehicles must be compact in structure,trouble and rattle-free in use, convenient to operate, eflicient in itsfunction as a tight closure, and of such a nature as to lend itself toquantity production.

One object of the present invention is to provide a ventilator valveassembly which satisfies the above requirements and is of attractiveappearance.

A feature of the invention is a pivotally mounted valve associated witha grille having an arcuate portion partially concealing the valve andthrough which means extend for operation of the valve.

The above and other features of the invention will now be moreparticularly described by reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view, partially in section of the forward portion of anautomobile in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in elevation taken in the direction of thearrows 33 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a modified construction of a detailshown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4.

In a number of types of automotive vehicle bodies it has been foundexpedient and advantageous to admit ventilating air into the passengercompartment through the fire wall. A vehicle body of this type isdisclosed in the application for United States Letters Patent S. N.392,806, filed November 18, 1953, in the names of James D. Leslie,Robert M. Fox and Lloyd E. Muller and entitled, Vehicle Body WithBuilt-In Ventilation System.

In the drawings a body of the above type is disclosed and this bodyincludes a windshield 12, an elongated cowl air inlet 14 and aconventional fire wall 16 separating the engine compartment from thepassenger compartment. This fire wall consists of sheet metal pieces 18and 20 between which is confined soundabsorbing and insulating material22.

A blister structure 24 is located forwardly of the fire wall and, as inthe patent application above referred to serves to conduct air enteringat 14 so that it will pass forwardly and downwardly and then rearwardlythrough the fire wall 16 and into the passenger compartment. Thisstructure includes a trough 25 for entrapping moisture entrained in theair and conducting it to a suitable drain.

A ventilator valve assembly of the present invention comprises a framewhich is constructed of sheet metal A grille 40 is attached to the firewall 16 by means of screws 42 and is arranged in such position thatanarcuate portion 44 thereof is in registry with the opening 34. Thegrille has a forwardly directed flange or mar-- gin 46 directed towardthe fire wall and a portion thereof as at 48 (Fig. 2) is cut away toaccommodate the upper margin of carpet material 50 covering the toeboard and the lower part of the rearwardly directed side of the firewall. I

The bottom wall 38, which is part of the frame 30, extends upwardly at52 and 54 (Fig. 3) forming supports on which a two-piece butterfly typevalve 56 may be pivotally mounted. The valve is arcuate in shape as.

seen in Fig. 2 and comprises two pieces of sheet metal 58 and 60 whichare welded together as at points 62. The margins of the two pieces 58and 60 are so formed as tightly to receive and retain flexible andresilient strips 64 and 66 of rubber-like material.

The metal sheet 60 is provided with rearwardly extending ears 68 and 70and cooperatively associated with these ears are two brackets 72 and 74,each of which is L-shaped in cross section and welded to the plate 69.As seen in Fig. 3, a pin 76 having a head 73 passes through the flange72 and the ear 68 as well as the frame portion 52. The pin is fixed inrelation to the valve 56 by staking as at 79. A spring washer 80 isinterposed between the portion 52 and the ear 68. A similar pin 82passes through the flange 74, the ear 70 and into the frame portion 54;but in this case, a coil spring 34 is arranged about the pin 82 and oneend of the spring is anchored at 86 to the pin and the other end of thespring is in engagement with the bracket 74. A spring washer 87 isemployed between the portions 54 and 70. With this arrangement, mountingof the door may quickly be accomplished by inserting the pin 82 into theframe comprising the spring 84 and then inserting the pin 76.

Attached to a mid-portion of the valve 56 is a lever 90 which is weldedto the valve as at points 92. Advantageously, this lever bears ribs 94and 96 which serve as means for strengthening the lever against bendingstresses which may be imposed thereon.

In one embodiment, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a spring latch member 98is attached to the wall 36 by means of a screw 100. This latch isbifurcated to present two spring fingers 102 and 104 which arepositioned to engage a rolled-over portion 106 forming an extension ofone end of the lever 90.

In the modified construction of Figs. 4 and 5 the latch means 98 of Fig.2 is dispensed with and a spring latch 110 may be substituted. Thislatch is held in position by means of an upturned lip 112 insertedthrough a small slot 114 in the wall 38 and a screw 116 passing throughthe latch and into the wall. The latch 110 comprises two cooperativespring arms 118 and 120 which are positioned to engage the exposed endportion of the valve lever 90 when the valve 56 is placed in its closedposition.

It will be noted that one end of the lever 90 extends through an opening122 (Fig. 3) in the grille portion 44 and that when the lever 90 isdepressed, the flexible strips 64 and 66 come into tight engagement withthe Patented May 14, 1957- frame 30. forming. a tight closure. Thewasher springs 80 and 87 serve to retain the valve. in. any preselectedposition and either of the latches shown may be utilized to retain thevalve in its closed position. It is to be notedthat the pivot pins 76and 80 are located below the center of the valve 56. This aids inpreventing opening of the valve when air pressure in the blisterstructure 24 rises due to the ram elfect as the vehicle is under way.

It will be appreciated that for operation of the valve, the handle orlever 90 as well as the latch mounted at or on the valve may bedispensed with without departing from the present invention. In such anevent the' valve may conveniently be operated by other means such as aBowden Wire fixed to the" valve and leading throughthe grille 40 to theinstrument panel or other area conveniently accessible tothe operator.Frictional resistance against movement of the Bowden wire may be-reli'edupon to hold the valve in its selected position and, if necessary, adetent arrangement may be provided to hold the Bowden wire againstlongitudinal movement and in accordance with selected positions of thevalve.

A ventilator valve assembly adapted for use on the fire wall of avehicle body to control fluid flow through an opening in said fire wall,said assembly including a rectangular frame inset-table in said opening.to form a flow passage, a grille adapted to be attached to the rear sideof said fire wall in registry with said flow pas sage and having anarcuate vertical cross section, a curved butterfly valve pivotallymounted on said frame for movement about a horizontal axis to controlflow through said passage, said valve having resilient marginal sealingstrips, a manually operable lever rigidly fixed to said valve forrotation therewith, one end of said lever extending rearwardly, throughand beyond said grille, latch means arranged to hold said valve in fullyclosed position, and spring means for yieldably holding said valve inopen position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS363,181 Tallmage May 17, 1887 822,408 Tuttle June 5, 1906 1,248,926Schantz Dec. 4, 1917 2,324,858 Levine July 20, 1943 2,612,829 Joyce Oct.7, 1952 2,631,517 Duhn Mar. 17, 1953 2.678587 Simons May 18, 1954

